Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and/or mixed reality (MR) systems enable a user to interact with virtual objects presented via an interface. The interface can include virtual objects rendered and presented via a display of a head-mounted device such that the virtual objects appear to be objects in the user's real-world environment. To enable the user to interact with the virtual objects presented on the display, these types of systems can include various input mechanisms that send signals to the head-mounted device. For instance, the head-mounted device can process signals received from an input mechanism controlled by the hand of the user, and coordinate an interaction based on the processed signals (e.g., the head-mounted device may be configured to display a virtual pointer in association with a position and/or an orientation of the input mechanism).
As part of the signal processing, the head-mounted device can “smooth” the signals over time using a smoothing algorithm configured to capture important patterns in the signals and/or predict future motion and/or rotation, while eliminating noise. By smoothing the signals, the amount of “jitter” of a virtual element that is being controlled by the motion and/or the rotation of the input signal is reduced. The jitter can be caused by a shaking hand or arm and can be indicative of small changes in position and/or orientation of the input mechanism. Smoothing signals, however, creates latency because signals received over a period of time must be processed (e.g., averaged) to reduce or eliminate the noise. In some instances, this latency can frustrate the user experience associated with augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and/or mixed reality (MR) systems.